Writing a book about one fast-growing and secretive technology juggernaut is challenging enough. Weaving together the stories of two such companies as the competitive ground shifts beneath their feet every day is downright daunting.
So I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the editors, colleagues, and family members who supported this book from conception to finish. My agent Pilar Queen was an invaluable adviser, skilled at dispensing both practical advice and anxiety-defusing reassurances. At Little, Brown, my editor John Parsley believed in this book from the beginning and was insightful and wise at every juncture. Additional thanks go to Little, Brown’s CEO Michael Pietsch and to Reagan Arthur, Nicole Dewey, Tracy Williams, Michael Noon, Lauren Harms, and Gabriella Mongelli for escorting this book through the gestation process. Tracy Roe gave the manuscript a sterling copyedit. A big thanks also to Doug Young at Transworld Publishers for championing this book in the UK.
I’m grateful to everyone at Airbnb, Uber, and Lyft who saw value in a deep look at a momentous era in Silicon Valley history. At Uber, thanks go to Jill Hazelbaker, David Plouffe, Nairi Hourdajian, and Travis Kalanick and his executives. At Airbnb, I’m grateful to Kim Rubey, Maggie Carr, and Mojgan Khalili, as well as Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, Nathan Blecharczyk, Belinda Johnson, and their team. At Lyft, Brandon McCormick had infinite patience for my inquiries, and John Zimmer and Logan Green were generous with their time and recollections.
In Silicon Valley, Gina Bianchini, Mark Casey, Margit Wennmachers, Robin Chan, Hans Tung, Paul Kranhold, and Om Malik offered insight and advice along the way. I’m also indebted to Anne Kornblut, Michael Jordan, and Ethan Watters for their guidance and, as always, their friendship.
At Bloomberg, John Micklethwait, Reto Gregori, Ellen Pollock, Brad Wieners, Jared Sandberg, and Kristin Powers have provided a wonderful professional home that is committed to ambitious journalism in all forms. I’m also lucky to work at Bloomberg with the best technology team in the business. Tom Giles, Jillian Ward, Peter Elstrom, Nate Lanxon, Aki Ito, Emily Biuso, and Alistair Barr are incredible colleagues who gave me air cover while I was occupied by the pursuit of elusive facts and coherent sentences. Eric Newcomer, Ellen Huet, Mark Milian, Jim Aley, and Max Chafkin read the manuscript early and offered crucial advice. Lulu Chen helped me report the remarkable story of Didi Chuxing in Beijing. Emily Chang was an empathetic confidante as I worked through the challenges of telling this story. And my longtime colleague and co-conspirator Ashlee Vance was, as always, an inspiration and sounding board whenever I needed to find my footing.
Once again, I owe a big thank-you to Nick Sanchez, who ably helped with research and reporting. Several crucial episodes in this account wouldn’t be here without his efforts. (Of course, the blunders are all mine.) Diana Suryakusuma assisted with photographs, answering the call even when she was working on the other side of the world.
My family was remarkably patient and helpful during the reporting and writing of this book. Carol Glick, Robert Stone, Luanne Stone, Bernice Yaspan, Brian Stone, Eric Stone, and Becca Stone are now skilled at managing a self-absorbed author. Harper Fox, Maté Schissler, Andrew Iorgulescu, Essence Kelley, and David Lewis were warm and enthusiastic throughout, despite the fact that we root for rival baseball teams.
Even though they would occasionally sigh with exasperation over their distracted daddy, my daughters, Isabella and Calista Stone, offered plenty of motivation and good cheer during this effort.
And finally, writing this book wouldn’t have been conceivable without the love and boundless support of Tiffany Fox.